Chapter 63

Da Wang went to the front court's small morning meeting with morning grumpiness, seeing his subordinates intimidated by his low mood into speaking more concisely; the little brat's morning grumpiness miraculously vanished, and by the time he went to school he was back to his cheerful, happy self.

That morning after school he summoned Zhao Zhuge to go over the script ahead of time; that afternoon, while Da Wang was riding horses at the training field, the freshly made Zhao siblings showed up at his door.

Within a two-li radius of the training field, no female human had ever appeared; palace maids couldn't reach this place; normally only Da Wang's personal eunuch and the imperial guard battalion, from top to bottom, were present.

As soon as 6785 appeared, Da Wang saw a lowly guard stationed opposite him boldly dare, right in front of him, to swing his eyes around to follow 6785 in a full circle.

Da Wang wasn't angry; he even felt a bit of sympathy for him.

Poor thing, what are you staring at? She's not even human!

At the edge of the horse‑training field, Zhao Zhuge formally introduced 6785 to Zhao Chuan and Zhao Bao.

"I, a humble subject, have always loved wandering and have no fixed abode. But my younger sister's aspirations differ from mine; she followed me south and north, mastering martial arts and also becoming versed in business. Today I, thick‑skinned, wish to entrust her to Your Highness, so she can serve as a steward by your side and make full use of her talents—better than wandering with me."

Da Wang, who enjoys petty drama, said, "Mr. Zhao is erudite and talented; your younger sister will surely be just as excellent. Does the Miss Zhao also know martial arts? If she takes a liking to Youzhou and decides to stay, I will certainly agree."

6785 clasped his hands nonchalantly and said, "I know a bit, I know a bit; I approve, I approve."

Da Wang: "…This young lady's manners are really too strange. Also, Deputy Commander Zhao, don't look at her with such stunning eyes—she's pretty, but it's all thanks to wit."

Da Wang kept his composure and continued the small talk, "I don't know how to address this young lady."

The sharp‑tongued Zhao Zhuge eagerly said, "What she was called before doesn't matter; serving Your Highness makes her a new person—why not let Your Highness give her a name?"

Zhao Bao's heart skipped a beat, and once again the name Dahua surfaced in his mind—this lovely young lady…

Da Wang pondered for a second, "Your elder brother is called Zhuge, so let's call the younger sister……"

Zhao Chuan: "Zhu Yan?"

Zhao Bao: "Lu Lou?"

Da Wang: "Zhuti!"

Everyone except Zhao Zhuge had their jaws drop at the sight of a lovely young woman being called… pig's trotters?!

Zhao Bao: "This… isn't appropriate, is it?"

Zhao Chuan nearly choked on his own saliva.

The person herself remained perfectly calm, "Your Highness, are you hungry? Do you eat pig's trotters here?"

Zhao Zhuge realized he might be the one who understood Da Wang best among this group, "It's the vermilion 'Zhu' and the 'Ti' meaning to lift. I recall that Zhuti is a famous silver‑producing place in the Great Jin." Da Wang's choice of name made the meaning obvious.

Da Wang felt wronged. "Look, it's just that my wit isn't enough—I'm far inferior to Zhao Zhuge." "Can't I exchange my sister for you? Does she really know business?"

Obviously not—Zhao Zhuge is a high‑level big NPC, he won't just hand it over.

Returning to Suiyu Hall, Da Wang's personal attendants increased from one to two.

Da Wang never lacks attendants, but Zhuti still needs to put her talents to use—she possesses a ten‑point aptitude for business.

Da Wang produced the key to Shop No. 6 on Zhuque Avenue and handed it to Zhuti, intending to let her try her hand. "This is the key to Shop No. 6 in Wanxiang City; I want to open for business before the year's end, so I'm entrusting the preparations to you."

Like Zhao Zhuge, Zhuti is called "Your Highness" when people are around and "Lord" when they're not—clear as day. "Lord, rest assured; give me seven days to recruit and train enough staff, and we'll be ready to open for business."

Da Wang wondered, "Are you also hiring accountants outside? Can they be trusted?"

"I can myself serve as both manager and accountant; later, when hiring workers, I'll take on someone slightly literate as my assistant, and when I'm absent I'll delegate oversight to him. Lord, rest assured, no one will dare steal even a single coin from under my nose." She spoke confidently and boldly.

Da Wang always felt that beneath her beautiful exterior lay a… rough‑hewn soul.

That night Da Wang ran to the manor, saw Bai Yang, and eagerly said, "White Brother, White Brother, quickly give me those merchandising deals you've been gathering for me—Meng Meng found me a Mountain King to act as manager!"

When Bai Yang learned that this female Mountain King had given herself ten extra beauty points, he was eager to see just how beautiful she really was. He asked Da Wang to describe her, and Da Wang summed up: "She's in her twenties, wears a lovely green dress, has fair skin and black hair, two eyes and a nose?"

Bai Yang: "……So, to sum up, is she a person? Who evaluates appearance by mentioning clothes first?"

Da Wang nodded firmly.

Bai Yang: ……

He brought out the batches of small novelty items he had bought for Da Wang; there were quite a lot. Each category was bundled together and sold to Da Wang in a single payment. Da Wang soon stopped keeping track of the accounts, dazzled by the modern handicrafts.

As for the museum's surroundings, they fit the ancient aesthetic quite well.

For example, those flashy glass ornaments—whether imitation‑ancient, abstract art, or wealth‑bringing symbolism—were impossible for Da Wang to resist.

A simple wooden base with two thin copper rods holding a blue and a white glass koi‑fish, and Da Wang was dazed by the flowing, lively, lifelike big tail. How lovely it would look in his Duobao Pavilion! Placed on his desk, it would make his calligraphy practice a delight.

Opening another, he found a large, crystal‑clear, shimmering yellow dragon!

It was gorgeous—he wanted to sell it to his royal father!

Da Wang only opened two, then looked at Bai Yang with starry eyes and said, "White Brother, are these things expensive?"

Bai Yang snapped out the invoice, pulled out a calculator, and clacked away: twenty‑two types of glass ornaments, ten each, costing 33,800, plus his workers' moving fees… well, at least he made a profit—"This pile of glass ornaments is worth 350 silver taels to me."

Da Wang no longer cared about 350 silver taels; this arithmetic‑weakling eyed the other's calculator. Bai Yang doused him with reality: "This really won't do—your Meng Meng will ruthlessly charge you extra." Electronic products far outstrip Great Jin civilization.

Da Wang: "Hmph!"

But silver can heal Da Wang; gritting his teeth, he painfully picked five favorites from the twenty‑two types to bring back to Suiyu Hall. It's not that he doesn't want them all—he just didn't see that endless list? White Brother has so many good things, he can't possibly play with them all, let alone exhaust them!

For example, the solar ambient lights—Bai Yang bought two kinds. There's the long‑ish A Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains, about a meter wide, with a blue‑green landscape set in a wooden frame; just leave it in a sunny window for a day and at night those blue‑green mountains glow. The other kind has pictures crafted inside glass; after a day in the sun the images glow. Though called a crystal ball, it's actually glass—those once‑faddish, now‑out‑of‑fashion crystal balls of the modern world are enough to dazzle Da Wang.

"I'd like the one with a little deer inside, and also the one with flowers…"

Bai Yang ignored his indecision and kept calculating coldly: "Altogether 200 pieces—rarity means value, so we didn't overstock. I'll charge you 480 silver taels; the solar‑panel versions are a bit pricier than the plug‑in ones. …Just pick one, Your Highness—there's plenty of fun to be had. Look at this: no electricity needed, just take a breath and it will keep circulating water on its own. Put one in your study, gaze at that big pool below, and you could raise a few baby koi there—how perfect!"

It's quite perfect; this kind of exquisite miniature landscape is something ancient people couldn't resist, especially since you can buy finger-sized figurine ornaments to play house with—the king almost drooled. Come, pick the biggest one for this king!

The king fell in love with this procurement segment; although the stall fees these days were all given to his White Brother, he still ended up with a heap of toys. Even the metal hollow bookmarks come in over a hundred different styles—the king hates that he doesn't like reading, so he doesn't have nearly enough books to clip them into!

When he went back to sleep, his dreams were filled with piles of gold beckoning to him.

The next day, Zhao Ba arrived on time to wake him; he pushed open the door of the sleeping hall, and seeing the wooden crates and cardboard boxes stacked as high as a mountain around the king's bed, his face turned pale with fright—the king's bed had vanished!

Your Highness!